Sold
by cherylwoo
Summary: Yao, out of poverty, has been auctioned off. He is bought by Arthur. What will happen to this odd couple, living together? Rated for a bit of LEMON at the end. England/China.


A/N – My second Hetalia fic! Very different from the first – this one's full of fluff! As usual, this fic is un-betaed, and I would very much appreciate it if you could read and review!

CLANG!

The door of his cell burst open, revealing two security guards. Yao opened a bleary eye – he had been resting. After being sold by his brothers for money (which they had very little of to begin with), he had been spending most of his days cooped up in that cell. Among his brothers, he was the most beautiful one, and they'd figured that selling him would by far fetch them the most amount of money. He wasn't treated unkindly there; on the contrary, he was mostly ignored. This was the first time he'd been summoned.

The two security guards ushered him out. "Where am I going?" Yao wondered aloud.

The guards ignored him and simply dragged him forward by his cuffed hands.

They exited the prison, and after a while, reached a lavish bungalow within the vicinity of the prison. They were greeted at the door by a motherly looking middle-aged woman.

"This is the one," said one of the guards before the two of them turned around and left Yao at the doorstep, quite unsure of what was happening.

"My my," said the woman, examining Yao. "You are a tiny little thing, aren't you?" She ushered a perplexed Yao into her residence.

"My name is Elizabeth," the woman told Yao, as she untied his bound hands. "I am Alfred's stylist and personal assistant," she continued. At Yao's blank look, she chuckled. "You are here today for me to dress you up in the best way possible."

"What?" Yao was baffled.

But he was ignored. Elizabeth clapped her hands twice and immediately, a flurry of younger girls appeared and hurried Yao away.

Yao, much to his embarrassment, was stripped and bundled into the bathroom, where he was to take a bath. He wasn't even allowed to bathe himself – one of the girls was there to wash his every orifice. When she reached down to sponge his nether regions, Yao yelped and swatted her hand away. "I can do that by myself, if that's alright!" he exclaimed, turning a bright red.

She merely shrugged and continued her business.

When they were done, they exited the bathroom. Yao was dressed in an elaborate red cheongsam, one which was obviously for the female persuasion, but he tried to ignore that fact. Funnily enough, the cheongsam fitted him in exactly all the right places; it was as if the cheongsam was made just for him.

Then the girls sat Yao down in front of a mirror and gestured for him to wait there. He supposed they were going to style his hair this time. But for what? It wasn't like he was going to meet the emperor; women were generally nicely dressed up when they were going to meet the emperor in his home country. America did not have a king, for one thing.

Elizabeth entered and laid a hand on Yao's head. "Such soft hair," she mumbled, running her fingers through Yao's wet hair.

"Um," Yao began unsurely. "Could I just tie my hair in its normal ponytail?"

Elizabeth looked aghast. "Of course not, dear!" she exclaimed and began working on Yao's hair.

When she was done, Yao peered into the mirror. What he saw made him shrink back in humiliation. His hair was done up in an elaborate bun, and there were flowers sticking out of it – he looked like a girl!

But Yao didn't have a chance to protest as to the state of his hair, as Elizabeth quickly called one of the girls in, who immediately ushered Yao out.

"Where are we going?" Yao decided to try his luck again.

The girl shot him a glance. "We are going to the stage area," she replied.

"For what? And why am I dressed like this?"

The girl smiled kindly at him. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," she assured him.

_Fine? What does she mean?_ Yao was confused, but decided not to press into the matter anymore, and just followed the girl.

They reached a tent. The girl pulled one of the door flaps aside and pushed Yao in. "Good luck," she mouthed to him.

_Wait, don't leave me!_ was what Yao wanted to say, but he froze when he saw several men leering at him. He folded his arms, hugging himself, and walked into the tent.

"Oh, good! You're here!" an elderly lady perked up when she saw Yao. She grabbed Yao by the shoulders and whispered into his ear, "When they call you, you go out and stand in the middle of the stage. That's all you got to do, okay?"

Still confused, Yao merely nodded.

Yao looked around him. There were men and several women around, but none of them had a kind look about them. The men who noticed him leered at him, and the women who noticed him cast disdainful looks at him. It looked like they were preparing for something that was currently going on…

Yao gasped when someone yanked him by the shoulders and threw him on stage. He stumbled on stage and when he reached the middle, merely stood there. He noticed a great crowd had gathered.

"This beauty of Asia has not been touched by any man or woman," the announcer was saying. "As such, the acquirement of such a beauty will of course be beneficial to one. So place your bids!"

Now Yao understood. He was being auctioned off. By the sounds of it, he was being auctioned for sex. He squinted at the crowd, trying to imagine having sex with anyone in the crowd. He shuddered at the thought.

"One billion!" came a shout.

There was a silence.

Yao looked up, surprised. Was he worth that much? And who could it be that put out that ridiculous number?

"Pounds!" the same voice added.

There was a shocked murmur in the crowd.

"Sold!"

_Pounds? _That could only mean…

"Have a nice day!"

Yao felt his hand being taken by his new "master" – Arthur Kirkland, the personification of England. He slowly looked up into Arthur's face. Arthur had stoic features that had a "no-nonsense" attitude. Yao was being led to a carriage that was parked not far from the stage area.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kirkland," the carriage driver greeted Arthur.

Arthur smiled in return, and showed Yao into the carriage.

Yao, not used to the cheongsam he was wearing, stumbled into the carriage. Embarrassed, he hurriedly straightened himself up and sat primly down.

Arthur must have thought that funny, for he quickly hid a grin behind his hand. He, too, got into the carriage and sat opposite Yao.

The ride back to Arthur's mansion was uncomfortable. No one said a word, and Yao fidgeted anxiously in his seat. He wished for Arthur to break the silence by saying anything. Just anything!

When they finally reached Arthur's mansion, Yao could not help but breathe a sigh of relief as he got out of the carriage. Arthur took his hand and they walked to the mansion.

As soon as Yao stepped in, he turned to Arthur with his hands spread out and solemnly said, "OK, let's get this over with."

Arthur was taken aback. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You bought me for a billion pounds, did you not?" Yao questioned. "I suppose you want to have your way with me and then dispose me like yesterday's leftovers."

Arthur stared at him before breaking into laughter. "Yao, you've got it all wrong!" he said.

"Enlighten me, then," said Yao.

"I admit I have been attracted to you for centuries," Arthur said, with his arms in the air in mock-surrender. "But that's not why I bought you. I know your brothers and you are suffering from tremendous debt right now, and your solution was to sell you off for money."

Yao nodded. That was about right.

"But I paid that money just so that you would not fall into the arms of lecherous goons. Do you know what Francis or even Ivan would have done to you?"

Yao looked thoughtful, and then shuddered. Ivan would have downright raped him, and Francis would have molested him to no end.

"You see?" Arthur said smugly. "I saved you from a terrible fate!"

"But…" Yao began hesitantly. "You bought me for a billion pounds! That's not a small amount of money! At least let me do something for you to repay you!"

"You can…" Arthur stepped nearer to Yao and sniffed his hair. He allowed his fingers to toy with the petals of the flower in Yao's hair.

Yao shivered pleasantly at Arthur's proximity. The other man smelled good. And he was bigger than him and so manly… Yao began to lean into Arthur's embrace.

"I tell you what," Arthur murmured sultrily into Yao's ear. "You can stay here for an indefinite amount of time. You can cook for me because god knows how awful my cooking is. You will allow me to court you. And when the time comes that I am successful, you will allow me to sleep with you."

Yao felt his mouth go dry. He could only nod at Arthur's proposition.

Thus, Arthur's ownership of Yao began. Yao mainly worked in the kitchen, cooking meals for Arthur to eat before he went to work and when he came home from work.

Yao tried learning how to cook English food, since that was what seemed to suit Arthur's tastes better. However, his first time cooking fish and chips was a disaster – the fish was undercooked, and he'd cooked the chips too early and covered them so by the time Arthur returned, they were soggy.

But he got better with time. Within two weeks, he could make the perfect fish and chips.

And that was not the only dish he tried. He tried experimenting with various other Western dishes – pasta, French toast, pancakes, hash browns, steak…

Arthur, on the other hand, greatly enjoyed the meals Yao cooked. They were no doubt better than what he could make.

Arthur also enjoyed Yao's company in his home. Occasionally, he would take Yao out for walks on the beach, for a movie… These "dates" helped him get closer to the Asian man. By their fourth "date", when Arthur casually slipped his hand into Yao's, he was not pushed away; the blonde man was inwardly cheering.

One evening, when Arthur didn't come in for his dinner, Yao went out to look for him.

Arthur was in his garden, long rolls of parchment laid out before him. He seemed so distracted by his reading, that he didn't notice Yao peering over his shoulder to get a glimpse of Arthur's work.

Yao noticed the particular poem Arthur was reading. It was from a famous scholar from his country – Li Shangyin. "傾國宜通體, 誰來獨賞眉?*," he whispered.

Arthur whipped his head around. "Yao!" he gasped. "You gave me a fright!"

Yao smiled gently at Arthur. "You didn't come in for dinner, so I thought I'd come and get you."

"Oh," Arthur chuckled sheepishly. "Must have lost track of time."

Yao glanced at the parchment as Arthur was rolling them up. "Why are you reading Chinese poetry?"

Arthur looked at him, blushing. "Iwantedtorecitethemtoyou," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"I. Wanted. To. Recite. Them. To. You," Arthur repeated more slowly, but not meeting Yao's eyes.

It took a while for Yao to process what Arthur said. But when he did, he was at a loss for words. "To… to me? But-but why?" he stuttered, blushing furiously.

Arthur shot him a smirk. "I believe you gave me the permission to court you."

Yao took a step back, still blushing but looking at Arthur thoughtfully. "Oh." Then, without warning, he took a step forward, stood on tiptoe, and planted a chaste kiss on Arthur's cheek.

Arthur was taken aback. He rubbed the cheek which just had contact with Yao's mouth. Then, smiling, he took Yao's hand and dragged him into the mansion. "Come on, I'm starving!"

One day, while Arthur and Yao were strolling along the beach, they came across a flock of seagulls scouring the beach for food.

One brave seagull approached the couple with a questioning look in its eyes, as if asking them if they had any food. Arthur shrugged and lifted his hands, showing that he had none. Yao, on the other hand, chuckled and reached into his bag, where he brought out a loaf of bread.

Immediately, all the seagulls crowded around them, hoping to get a bit of the bread Yao was holding.

"Easy, easy!" Yao cried as a seagull landed on his shoulder and began tugging on his hair with its mouth.

Arthur was laughing at the comical sight of Yao surrounded by seagulls. He stepped aside and allowed the seagulls to eat their fill of the bread Yao was picking off and throwing on the beach. Arthur sat on a piece of log and stared at Yao, who looked absolutely stunning with the light of the sunset making his skin glow. How he wished he could take the Asian man right there and kiss him senseless…

When the loaf of bread was decimated by the seagulls, and they were full and happy, Yao went over and sat beside Arthur, watching the seagulls frolic on the beach and in the sea.

"I wish I could be as free as they are," said Arthur thoughtfully.

Yao didn't say anything. He knew of the problems the English nation was going through and despite how much Arthur said he was not terribly affected by them, Yao knew that Arthur was indeed bothered.

"My brothers and I would come to the beach to relax after a tiring week's work," Yao said off-handedly.

"Your brothers?" Arthur looked at Yao. "You seldom speak of them," he told the Asian man.

"Yeah," Yao sighed, looking at the ocean. "I'm afraid it'll bring back too much memories – of the times we had together, of our decision for me to leave to bring them money…" he said, his voice shaking.

Arthur looked thoughtfully at Yao, who was determinedly staring at the ocean, refusing to meet Arthur's eyes. "Tell me about them."

Startled, Yao looked at Arthur. "You want to know about my brothers?"

"Sure," Arthur shrugged. "Why not?"

There was a moment of silence before Yao began. "Well, first there's Kiku, the personification of Japan. He's been with me the longest. I found him amongst a forest of bamboo, and boy, he was so rude when I first met him!" Yao chuckled. "But I brought him home and brought him up. He may not be one who shows his emotions easily, but when he loves, he loves fiercely."

Arthur nodded. He was listening intently. If this was what it took to get closer to the Asian man, by all means, he would do so.

"Then there's Yong Soo, the personification of Korea. He's the craziest one of the lot. He claims everything originated in Korea. He's always following me around, wanting to get close to me, claiming he owns my breasts…"

"Breasts?" Arthur guffawed. He reached out to touch Yao's chest. "Seems breast-less to me," he said laughing, as Yao swatted his hand away.

"Finally, there's Hong Kong, the personification of Hong Kong. He's the youngest of the lot, but he's very mature. He's also not one to show his emotions easily, and it's hard to tell what he's thinking, but I think he understands me the best."

Arthur gazed at Yao, who looked like he had tears in his eyes. "You really miss them, don't you?"

Yao turned and looked at Arthur. He allowed a tear to escape his eye. "Yes," he whispered. "More than you can imagine."

Arthur didn't know what possessed him then, but seeing Yao so utterly devastated made him want to change that. He gazed into Yao's eyes before closing his own and kissed Yao on the lips.

Yao managed an undignified squeak as Arthur's lips met his own, but soon found himself kissing back. He opened his mouth to let Arthur explore his mouth. He could no longer feel his body as it was plunged into this unexpected bliss.

After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled apart, both of them panting.

"I love you," Arthur murmured.

"I…" Yao hesitated. Was what he felt for the blonde man love? Did having strong affection for him considered love? Did not wanting to be apart count as love? Did wanting him to be happy count as love? Yao decided that he loved Arthur. Unconditionally. "I love you too."

After their first kiss, life went on as per normal for Arthur and Yao. Yao mainly cooked for Arthur, and sometimes straightened up the mansion when Arthur was away at work.

When Arthur came home, they would spend time together. Of course, Arthur and Yao were more intimate – there was kissing, some light fondling… but they had not yet slept together. Sure, they sometimes shared the same bed, but they were otherwise fully clothed.

One night, some playful wrestling led to something more.

Arthur had been wrestling with Yao and had the Asian man pinned underneath him on his bed. Both men were panting with exertion, and there was a fire in both their eyes, both refusing to give up.

Arthur paused and gazed into Yao's eyes, as if seeking permission to go further.

Yao looked back questioningly. _Where are you going with this?_

One of Arthur's hands slipped into the top of Yao's red hanfu from the bottom, and Yao understood. He gestured for Arthur to go on with his head. _It's okay, I trust you._

Arthur leaned down and kissed Yao on the lips, which was reciprocated with much enthusiasm. Yao moaned softly. The sound made Arthur place his hands on Yao's body; it made him want to kiss places other than Yao's lips. It didn't help that Yao was wearing red – which Arthur always associated with fire and passion, just like what they were going to do next.

Arthur started to unbutton the buttons on Yao's hanfu, and Yao did the same with Arthur's shirt. Only Arthur's shirt didn't come off as easily as Yao's hanfu, and Arthur had to pause to shrug off his shirt.

Arthur licked Yao's neck all the way down to his belly button. His fingers found Yao's nipples and started pinching them, rolling them against his fingers. Yao gasped and covered his face with his hands. He bit his lip to prevent any more embarrassing sounds from escaping him.

Then, Arthur hooked his thumb over Yao's pants, and pulled the Asian's pants down. He paused to admire a semi-naked Yao, now clad in only his underwear.

"What are you looking at?" asked Yao, peeking through his fingers.

"Admiring how beautiful you are," Arthur replied with a gentle smile.

"Oh, shut up," Yao mumbled, still covering his face with his hands.

Arthur chuckled. He pried Yao's hands away from his face and kissed him on the lips again. "I'll be gentle, I promise."

"I know," Yao whispered, gazing into Arthur's eyes, full of trust. "I trust you."

Arthur explored the area around Yao's neck, and as Yao closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Arthur's head, he began biting, licking and sucking the junction where Yao's neck met his shoulder, eliciting all sorts of wonderful sounds from the petit Asian man.

Finally hooking his fingers over Yao's underwear, Arthur pulled it down, revealing Yao's semi-erect penis. Now that clothes did not block his view of the nakedness of the beautiful Asian man, Arthur could commit the scene to memory.

Arthur ran his fingers through Yao's hair, and released it from the ribbon that held it in a ponytail.

Yao did the same with Arthur's hair, running his fingers through the blonde locks as the other man began sucking on his nipples. He tried to resist moaning, but Arthur's actions proved too much to bear, and he let out a long moan.

Arthur tasted Yao's skin with his mouth, savouring the taste, and coaxing sighs and moans from the Asian, as he, too, tried to reciprocate Arthur's actions upon him.

When Arthur poured a generous amount of lube and stuck a finger into Yao's backside, Yao gave a yelp at the sudden intrusion.

"Sorry," Arthur whispered, kissing Yao on the forehead. "I need to prepare you before I do it, or it'll hurt like hell."

Yao nodded, his body slowly getting used to Arthur's invasion.

After a while, Arthur increased the number of fingers he used to stretch Yao out. He could see the Asian man's erection growing, and he smiled despite himself. While stretching Yao out, Arthur accidentally brushed against Yao's prostate, making the Asian gasp and see stars.

"Oh, looks like I've found that sweet spot," Arthur said good-naturedly.

Arthur made a scissoring motion with his fingers and eventually increased it to three fingers. When he felt Yao was ready, he removed his own pants and placed his erect penis at Yao's entrance.

"I'm going in now," he told Yao, with one hand grasping Yao's hip and the other wiping sweat from Yao's forehead.

Yao nodded and closed his eyes, readying himself for the intrusion.

When Arthur entered him, Yao gasped. He was afraid that Arthur might be too big for him to accommodate.

At Yao's gasp, Arthur stopped. "You alright, love?"

_Love! He called me love! _Yao inwardly cheered. Nevertheless, he nodded. "I'm alright. Go on," he told Arthur.

Arthur nodded and continued his actions. He didn't stop until he was completely sheathed within Yao, who was moaning and whimpering in discomfort and pleasure. Arthur moved and thrust within Yao, eliciting blissful moans from the smaller man. He hit Yao's prostate several times, making Yao gasp and buck.

"Arthur…" Yao moaned. "Arthur, I'm… I'm going to come…"

Arthur did not cease his actions. "Let's come together," he murmured.

Yao nodded.

They finally reached their orgasms together, Arthur spilling his seed into Yao and Yao spilling his seed onto his stomach.

Arthur pulled out of Yao. He grabbed a piece of cloth lying on the side of the bed and used it to wipe Yao off his semen. Then he moved to lie beside Yao, as the Asian man moved to snuggle beside him.

"Was it good?"

Yao nodded and buried his face into Arthur's chest. He mumbled something Arthur couldn't comprehend.

"What? Sorry, didn't catch that."

Yao lifted his head. "I don't have much sexual experience to compare to," he admitted with a slight blush to his cheeks.

Realisation dawned upon Arthur. "You mean… I'm your first?"

Yao nodded, still blushing.

"But you've been alive for 4000 years!" exclaimed Arthur.

Yao huffed. "That doesn't mean I've been sexually active," he retorted. "I didn't have the time to get into relationships, what with the emperors working me till I was half-dead!"

Arthur chuckled and hugged Yao closer to himself. "Don't expect to get rid of me so easily," he said good-naturedly. "I'll be with you for centuries to come."

"You better make sure of that," Yao chided him playfully. Sleep was beginning to overtake him. He yawned and stretched.

Arthur, sensing that his lover was about to conk out, said, "Go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake."

Yao smiled and snuggled into Arthur's arms. "Good night," he said softly.

"Good night."

* Qīng guó yí tōng tǐ, shuí lái dú shǎng méi – "The beauty which shakes a kingdom must reach through all the body, Who comes only to view the willow's eyebrows?" Part of a love poem entitled 'Willow' by Li Shangyin.

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